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network to freedom lesson plans

Schools participating in "From Hampton to New Bedford: A Network to Freedom" will be engaged by curriculum-based activities and materials that bring the past to life. Aimed at students in the 5th grade, these web-based lesson plans tell the compelling story of the Underground Railroad and the connections between Hampton National Historic Site (Maryland), New Bedford Whaling National Historical Park, and the journey of enslaved people of African descent living in America, their lifestyles and reasons for escape from a plantation. Teachers will lead students through role play, critical assessment, exploration, conditions of bondage, desires for freedom that led enslaved people to take great risks, travel difficult journeys, and face significant hardships for a chance at improving their lives, and why others took equal risks to help them.